Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and zinc oxide–silver, zinc oxide–copper nanocomposites using Bridelia ferruginea as biotemplate

摘要

The quest to synthesize nanomaterials with improved properties, but less undesirable effects on the environment necessitatedthis research. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and zinc oxide–silver (ZnO–Ag), zinc oxide–copper (ZnO–Cu) nanocompositeswere synthesized with pure eco-friendly dye extracted from Bridelia ferruginea, zinc acetate (Zn(CH_3COO)_2) ashost, copper acetate (Cu (CH_3COO)_2), and silver nitrate (AgNO_3) as dopant precursors. Phytochemical screening of dyesshowed high, presence of phenols and terpenoids. The nanomaterials were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared,X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopyand ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The results showed the capping agents in the dyes were responsible for reducingthe bulk materials. The crystallinity of the nanomaterials were found to be 19.02, 18.98 and 18.90 nm for the ZnO, ZnO–Agand ZnO–Cu nanoparticles respectively. The ZnO nanoparticles were flakelike in shape, whereas the Cu and Ag dopedparticles were spherical. An optical bandgap of 4.73 eV was recorded for the dye and 3.24 eV for the ZnO nanoparticles.This was narrowed to 3.18 and 3.13 eV by silver and copper dopant respectively. These results showed the nanoparticlesas a potential agent for photovoltaics and other optical applications.